If you’re joining our union — Texas AFT — you should expect more than just insurance.
Let’s answer the biggest question first: Yes, Texas AFT offers $8 million in Occupational Liability Insurance (OLI). But there’s more to our union than insurance.
When you join our union — either through one of our local unions or our Associate Membership Program — you join a union family of more than 66,000 educators and school employees in K-12 and higher education. You also join the ranks of the 1.7 million members of our national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, and the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO. That means something.
Featured Benefits
Local, State & National Power
- Local Focus. Our union has more local and regional offices than any other education organization in Texas. That means localized attention to the issues in your workplace and the needs of your community.
- Legislative Advocacy. Our union has dedicated lobbyists for the Texas Legislature, the Texas Education Agency, the Teacher Retirement System, and other state agencies. With active advocacy, we’ve won statewide pay raises, state-paid health insurance, and the passage of the Safe Schools Act.
- National Lobbying. Our affiliations with the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO also mean we have a powerful national voice in Washington, D.C. We’re also able to learn from and share resources with other state unions.
Workplace Protections & Services
Of course, we also offer the concrete benefits you expect too. Every member of Texas AFT, regardless of district or area, gets the following:
- $8 million occupational liability insurance. This is your protection against lawsuits relating to the scope of your duties as a school employee. This includes civil rights violation claims and a $35,000 Legal Action Trust to protect against criminal incidents.
- Legal Defense Fund. This fund protects against employment-related claims.
- $25,000 accidental death & dismemberment coverage. Members should fill out an AD&D beneficiary card and keep a copy in their personal files.
- $5,000 term life insurance. New members can activate this policy for free for one year. At the end of the year, they can choose whether to continue the policy.
- Special insurance offers. Through National Teacher Associates and Horace Mann, members can get special offers and services on life insurance and other supplemental insurance.
- Student loan assistance. AFT members have access to Summer, an online student loan management platform that can help you navigate your repayment and loan forgiveness options.
- Service discounts. Through our Union Plus program, you can save thousands of dollars on services like auto insurance, your mortgage, car rentals, credit cards, theme parks, and more. Additionally, some local unions have special offers for their members.
Union Plus & Additional Texas AFT Benefits
AFT offers our members a wide range of money-saving programs and discounts that can often help cover the cost of your membership dues. Most of these are available through the Union Plus program, which means terrific savings for you on travel, pet care, mortgages, AT&T wireless service, life insurance, and much more!
You also can read about your national benefits at AFT, where you can access the site by using your member ID number.
If you haven’t yet received your member number or have lost your card, please call AFT at 888-238-5646 or fill out the assistance form.
Summer: Student Loan Debt Relief: AFT’s Summer benefit allows members to enroll for free in Summer’s online student loan management platform. Summer’s borrower success team helps our members enroll in and manage the paperwork for income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, find other debt relief programs that are available, and tailor student loan repayment options to their individual needs.
AFT members, on average, have saved more than $130 per month and $57,000 over the lifetime of their loans. Our members who attend student debt clinics will receive immediate support in enrolling in Summer. Members can learn more about the AFT Summer member benefit, including how to enroll in an upcoming Student Debt Clinic, at www.aft.org/benefits/summer.
National Teacher Associates (NTA) was created to serve educators with their needs for life insurance and other supplemental insurance products (including disability, cancer, accident, heart and ICU). NTA also has worked with Texas AFT on numerous events and professional issues trainings and is a trusted partner for our members. With more than 40 years of experience, and a commitment to working with teachers unions across the country, NTA is your go-to source for finding the coverage you need.
Horace Mann has a unique appreciation for the challenges educators face because the company was Founded by Educators for Educators®. Our understanding of those challenges has led them to develop products and services to help you achieve your financial goals—whether you’re a new teacher concerned about repaying college loans or an experienced educator preparing for retirement. Horace Mann can help you protect yourself and your family from risk, save for the future and feel more confident that you will have enough income in retirement. Their solutions often offer unique benefits and discounts designed especially for educators.
Professional Development & Resources
We know professional development is a top priority too, and we have several programs to help you in your work.
Bridges Institute for Professional Development
The Bridges Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit devoted to professional development and educational resources for Texas Educators.
You can expect regularly scheduled programming on topics like:
The Bridges Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit devoted to professional development and educational resources for Texas Educators.
You can expect regularly scheduled programming on topics like:
- Technology trainings on tools like Google Classroom, Zoom and Schoology
- Workshops on T-TESS, goal setting and your rights as educators
- Wellness sessions and yoga classes
Sign up for upcoming sessions on the Bridges event calendar.
Share My Lesson
Need a lesson plan on a specific topic? Share My Lesson is a curated online database of high-quality lesson plans and resources — available to you for free. You can search by grade level or look at special collections designed to connect students with current events and themes.
First Book
AFT has partnered with First Book, a nonprofit that provides free and low-cost books and resources to students who need them. Through this partnership, Texas AFT has helped distribute nearly 1 million free books to Title 1 schools across the state.
